That Which Could Be
by introspecticskeptic
Summary: Done for tumblr buddy joelmillerdefensesquad AU Where Joel and Tess have a beautiful baby boy, and live in relative peace and comfort in Tommy's town. Mainly doing for feels; don't expect anything too deep. Might be adding more characters as I go. Depends.
1. Chapter 1

"Tess!" The gruff voice did nothing to stir the cocoon of blankets that surrounded the slumbering woman. Joel huffed and crossed his arms.

"Dammit. Tess!" Again, no response from the cocoon, but from across the room a faint babbling sound rose from the crib, signaling the awakening of the newest member of the family.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming." Wearily moving to the crib Joel can't help but to smile at the face that greets him with a toothless smile. The smile though quickly trembles as he realizes that he needs changing. And then the wailing starts.

With practiced motions, Joel gently sticks a knuckle in his mouth and moves into the small bathroom off the side of the room – a rarity in times like this. Grabbing the changing supplies he quickly sets about his task and it isn't until he starts the song again does he realize he's been humming to the baby. He awkwardly stops, unsure of where _that_ song came from – he hadn't sung it since…

"JOEL!" Ellie's loud call interrupts all thought. He finishes changing the baby and swaddles him to help keep the damp chill out. He thinks of all the times he used to chastise Sarah about turning the AC down.

The sudden thought freezes him in the middle of the bedroom. He tries to think of why she would come back into his mind. He feels the sadness rising again, a tide of murky thoughts that would find all the wounds and reopen them. He can feel the panic starting to set in until a sudden jerk breaks his concentration. He looks down and sees his son with several hairs in his small hand. He chuckles a bit, and nuzzles him feeling the sadness and anxiety abating again. Pressing his lips to his son's forehead he whispers soft words of thanks to his son.

His Malachi.


	2. Tommy's Turn

He grabs her tighter, moving faster and faster as she can feel friction from their bodies starting to actually heat her whole body. She moans into his shoulder, the scars and wounds so familiar to her. She can feel it coming, she begs for him to finish. He smiles down at her, his face so safe and loving as she finally reaches…

The slamming door wakes her. After reorienting herself she lets out a long string of oaths against whichever fucker slammed the door. She takes a moment to calm down, both form the anger and the incredible dream. She reaches over to feel for Joel and is not surprised to find the bed empty. Just to be sure she focuses her hearing, just like she taught him and Ellie, and pinpoints him in the kitchen just off the stairwell outside their shared room. He seems to be pacing heavily around the kitchen and she wonders what's got him agitated, though knowing him, could be anything.

She decides to try and finish the dream (for once, goddammit) when the smell of bacon reaches her nose. _Fuck it, I want bacon!_ She slowly pushes the blankets off and prepares herself to face the day. _Maybe if I play my cards right, I won't need to finish the dream_. With a slightly lusty smile she heads down to the kitchen and her family.

* * *

The slamming door rattles him. He'd known Ellie suspected more than she let on, but to actually say those things to him. He finds himself pacing again and wills himself to finish cooking the bacon he'd gotten from the butcher.

"You see Malachi, this is why you should always be helpful, gets you free stuff." He wonders why he's chatting with a baby, was he really that upset over Ellie's accusation?

He looks over at his suddenly quiet son and laughs softly at Malachi's look of concentration as he tries eats more of his cereal – a gift from Maria. He hears the stairs creaks and puts the bacon on a plate with a few slices of toast and some butter.

"Mornin' princess – thought you'd never get up!" Tess lets out a short snicker and kisses Malachi on the top of his head, causing him to lose all interest in his cereal and make funny faces at his mom.

"Well, someone decided it was time to wake half the da…" the stern look from Joel deters her words, "darn, I was going to say darn! Town, speaking of which, where is she?" A momentary look from Joel has her pausing.

"What? You see her this morning?" As vicious and heartless as Joel could be, he was a shit liar, and Tess immediately knew he was going to try it.

"No…well, yeah, but she wanted to hurry on her way to school. So, we didn't chat or anything."

"School?"

"Yeah, she said something about a, a, a project?" She rolled her eyes, obviously he didn't want to talk about it.

"Okay, I'll catch up with her later. Listen, I wanted to make one of them, how do you Texans say, praw-poh-si-tions." He shakes his head at her exaggerated accent, an old joke between the two of them. Taking a sip of his coffee he motions for her to continue.

"Well, I was thinking that it's uncle Tommy's turn to watch the kids tonight, and that we could use that time to put to theories these ideas I got from a really interesting set of dreams I've had." She leans in and whispers her ideas into his ear, and slightly chews on his earlobe when he sputters out his coffee with a sharp "Christ!" Leaning back she crosses her arm and puts on her best poker face.

"Well? Whadda say Texas?"

"It's definitely Tommy's turn."


	3. Looming Storms

It was sometime after 4, if the sun was to be believed. And if the sun was wrong, according to the hungry growling emanating from Tess's stomach, it was at least 5.

"Damn, work up an appetite or something?" He chuckles against her neck as she mutter unflattering words about him. After kissing her one last time – this time on the lips – he throws a pair of pants on and heads downstairs to make dinner for them. As he heats up the stove though, he can't shake the feeling that something's wrong. It's not like the feeling he gets right before an ambush, but it similar, and it worries him. But he pushes it down and keeps cooking the deer he and Ellie had found earlier. _Ellie, something's wrong_. He pauses, and then hisses when hot fat and oil from the deer splatter on his exposed stomach. Wiping it away he steps back and sees the young Johnson kid running full-tilt up his walkway. Within seconds he's close enough to be heard,

"Mr. Miller! Mr. Miller, you gotta come quick! Ellie killed someone!"

"Fucking asshole!" Ellie sits back down on the uncomfortable floor. She'd been there for about 3 hours and her ass was getting tired of it. She'd tried asking for something to sit on, a pillow, a chair, even a stack of books, but the guard outside the small closet-turned-jail cell didn't respond except to remind her that anything she said could and would be used against her.

"At least tell me if Tess is coming?" Again, her request is met with unsettling silence. She slumps against the back wall, defeated and tired. Too stubborn to cry, she instead tires to meditate. However, she keeps thinking one thought: _I wish Riley was here_. She'd been missing her more than normal, and especially after her fight with Joel, she wished that her best friend could be there for her.

"Get over it Ellie. She's dead and gone." Even more tired, she closes her eyes and tries to sleep in the tiny room.

"Let me fucking see her!" The gruff voice wakes her, and immediately sets her on edge.

"Tommy, you listen to me, she is _my_ daughter and if I want to fuckin' see her I'll…"

"Don't let him come in!" She can feel her heart pounding in her chest, but she calls out again, "He's not allowed to come in!"

"Ellie, what do you mean?" She can hear the sadness in his voice, almost feel the concern and love – and she hates it.

"You know exactly the fuck I mean! Get away from me!" In the unearthly silence she can hear his small gasp, and knows that she's hit a button.

"You listen here! I have said that I made a mistake and that I am sorry for what I said, now, Ellie, it's time for you to fucking…" Something cuts him off though and next thing Ellie hears is him stomping away. The door opens and the dim evening light is almost blinding.

"Ellie, its time we talked." Tess holds out her hand and pulls Ellie to her feet. Though her words were kind, Ellie can feel the iron in her grasp. _Oh shit_.


	4. Mother's Intuition

Sitting in the dusty chair, Ellie concluded that though Joel was bigger, she was more afraid of Tess. For the past five minutes they had sat there in silence, Ellie fidgeting uncomfortably and Tess just staring.

"Look, I didn't really kill that kid. I just roughed him up." Ellie smiled, hoping to get some reaction out of the older woman – but there was no response other than a blink. Ellie couldn't help but to feel as though she'd been better off staying in the closet.

"Ellie." The two syllables carried so much weight that Ellie almost felt like she had been slapped. Looking up into Tess's eyes, she could see something there, but she couldn't figure it out.

"Now, I'm not going to ask you what the fuck that was between you and Joel. That's your shit to deal with. Deal with it. But, if you disrespect my husband again like that, we will have an issue. Got it?" Ellie didn't know how the hell such a soft voice could carry such power, but it did. She nodded and looked away from those piercing eyes.

"Okay. Now, that boy you attacked – was he going to hurt you?"

"No."

"Alright, was he going to hurt Malachi?"

"No, ma'am."

"Was he going to hurt me or Joel?"

"No, he wasn't going to hurt anyone." Ellie slumped further into her chair, wishing she could just vanish.

"So, why the fuck did you attack him with your knife? Ellie – I know we've had to kill while on the road. And I know that you went through shit with Joel when you guys went to Salt Lake City, but Ellie – those people were going to kill you. But you just said that kid wasn't going to hurt you. Why did you try to kill him?" Instead of screaming or getting angry Tess did something even scarier, she leaned in and put a hand on Ellie's trembling knee. Ellie didn't even notice until he realized she was holding it, almost as if it was an anchor.

"He…he said something really mean to me, Tess. I didn't know what to do! I'm sorry!" The tears formed in the corner of her eyes, but neither of them did anything about it.

"Ellie, what did he say to you? You have to tell me or I can't help you." Ellie looks back up and finally recognizes the look in Tess's eyes – concern.

"He…he called me. He said I…was a, a…" Overcome with emotion Ellie couldn't finish what she was saying and started to rock and sob loudly. In a flash Tess leans kneels on the floor in front of the small girl, wraps her arms around Ellie and starts rubbing her back in soft circles while softly whispering words of encouragement into her ear. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the Constable and Tommy coming over, but she shot them a glare and mouthed for them to wait. A few minutes later Ellie finally finished the sentence.

"A dyke. He called me that, and said I was going to hell." Still sniffling Ellie collapsed into Tess's arms and kept muttering apologies to her. Looking down at her young charge Tess realized that for whatever reason, Ellie had been seriously hurt by this. But still…

"Ellie, are you telling me everything?" She could feel Ellie stiffen against her, obviously scared by the realization but she shook her head.

"No. No, I did." With that Ellie pushes away from Tess and sits back down in her chair, all business again.

"Ellie, you will have to go to the jail for a while, but if you promise you've told me everything truthfully, I'll find a way to help you. Okay?"

"Ask Kathrine about it, she'll be able to tell you more also." Ellie looks into Tess's eyes one last time, but instead of the tears or fear, Tess can see something deeper in them, an inner fire had been relight, and Tess was curious to find out what it was.

"And when you do talk to her, take Joel." With that, Ellie rises from the chair and goes to the waiting Constable. She looks back at Tess and smiles, "Thank you Tess. I… It means a lot to me that you're willing to help me. Thank you." Guided by the Constable she leaves the town hall, the main doors giving a soft boom when they finally close.

"All right Joel, time for you to fuckin' tell the truth." With her goal of saving her daughter now firmly in place, Tess quickly races home.


	5. Stranger Dangers

He suspects he's in trouble when he hears Tess storming up the path. He thinks he's in trouble when she calmly opens the door and pauses to turn around and close it. He know he's in deep shit when she turns around and uses his full name.

"Joel Wade Miller. What the fuck was that?" Her quiet speech only accentuates the harsh tone of the words. He shyly looks away, feeling that familiar lump in his throat as he tries to think of the right way to answer her question.

"Don't you try to talk your way out of this Joel! What I saw back there was a cluster-fuck between you and Ellie. Now, I know shit went down in Salt Lake, okay? But why is _our_ _daughter_ refusing to talk to you?" He feels the familiar flash of sorrow and anger when she says our daughter, but years of experience has taught him to bury it deep – keep it with the rest of those flashes until they die. He takes a deep breath and decides to just tell the truth when a frantic knocking at their back door interrupts him.

"Now, who the hell's that at this time of day?" Tess's comment catches him off guard and he realizes that the sun is setting. It's a least 8, maybe closer to 9. He follows her to the back door and steps back in surprise when a young woman, maybe about 20, soaking wet, covered in mud, and bleeding darts into their house, slamming the door shut with a foot in a practiced glide. She moves back from the door a few steps and turns to face them.

"Please, you got to help me!" Her voice is shaky and somewhat rough, as if she'd been shouting recently.

"Who the hell are you?" He steps forward, putting himself between Tess and the girl, just in case she was turning and needed to be put down.

"My name is Kathrine; I'm a friend of Ellie's. She said if I was ever in trouble that I could come to her house. Is she here?" Tess's eyes narrow and she moves around Joel.

"Kathrine?"

"Yes ma'am, is Ellie here, please, it's important." Joel feels the growl in his throat and opens his mouth to tell Kathrine to fuck off, but Tess's firm hand on his arm stills him. He looks over and recognizes Tess's "hunting" look, the one she got when she was about to score a huge payoff back in Boston.

"Kathrine, I just got back from visiting Ellie in jail." Kathrine's shock intrigues Joel, "Kathrine, why didn't you know your friend was in jail?" Kathrine looks at him, and he can see the fear in her eyes, _she's about to have a panic attack_. He moves to hold her shoulder until she smacks at his arm and scrambles backwards, slamming into a curio and falling to the ground.

"Kathrine! Are you okay?" Tess rushes forwards to help her but another knock at the door causes them all to freeze, until Kathrine's frantic breathing gets Tess moving again, Moving her head next to Kathrine's ear, her voice barely carries over to Joel, "Kathrine, is the person at the door dangerous?" Her shaky nod sends a sliver of ice down Joel's spine.

"You stay with Kathrine, I'll check the door. Move her into the living room, keep a gun on ya'." Tess nods and guides the shaking guest into the kitchen. He waits to hear the faint click of a gun being cocked before he opens the door to find a softly smiling man with a small banjo. Stepping out onto the small porch he and Tommy worked on together right before he left for Salt Lake City. Leaning against the door, he sizes up the odd man before him. Though he's the image of a kindly old grandfather, Joel can't help but to feel like he's being watched by a predator – a sensation he isn't unfamiliar with. A brief moment later, the visitor sets his banjo down and starts speaking, "Hello there, I'm sorry to bother you. Name's David. May I ask yours?"

"John. How do ya do?" He just manages to bury the revulsion and keeps a straight face.

"Hi John, I'm looking for my cousin. We got separated some time ago and I'm worried about her. Have you seen her? She's about five-four, brown hair?" Though his posture and words are calm, for some reason Joel can't help but to feel uneasy about David.

"Well, I'm afraid I haven't, mister. Sorry. Have you tried down at town hall?" Joel plastered on a smile and slowly started counting up, _if this fucker is still here at 20 I'm kicking his ass_.

"Hehe, I guess not. Well, if you see her I'm just super worried about her. Let her know I came by?" He held out a hand and Joel briefly considered breaking it, but instead shook it. David turned and started down the path back to the woods but turned and called over his shoulder, "I do hope Ellie is doing okay. Heard about that, such a shame when kids act out, isn't it?" Though he did nothing to warrant it, Joel couldn't help but to feel a rush of paternal protectiveness rising against him.

"Thanks for the concern, but if you don't mind, I'm going to go spend time with my wife. She's all shook up. Have yourself a good night now." He waited until David vanished into the dark woods and took a deep breath to quell his nausea.

"Fucker." He goes back inside and ensures to lock the door before rejoining Tess and Kathrine in the kitchen. He sits down heavily. Tess rises and brings him a cup of coffee, and he takes and kisses her hand. She smiles and sits down next to Kathrine who's now bandaged and slightly cleaned up. Joel rises an eyebrow and bounces his eye between the two and Tess slightly shakes her head.

"Kathrine, the man at the door was David. He knew about Ellie. Do you know why?" Joel softened his tone, but still felt bad when Kathrine trembled slightly at the question. When she didn't answer Joel started to repeat the question when Tess interrupted him.

"Kathrine, now that he's gone, why don't you go shower? Don't worry about washing of the bandages, I can always put more on. Makes sure to clean out the cuts though." Kathrine silently nods and shakily heads up to the shower, each step seeming to drain her of energy she didn't have, Joel can't help but to feel sympathy for the poor woman.

Once she's gone Tess turns to Joel with an angry glint in her eye, "We need to put this fucker down, hard. Joel. David needs to disappear."

"Okay, what's the plan?"

"I don't know, but after what he did to Kathrine, no wonder Ellie told me to talk to her. She…" she breaks the wavering sentence to take a deep breath and wipe her eyes, "Joel. This girl needs us. We have to help her Joel, we have to."

"Tell me what happened, then we'll figure out what to do. Together."


	6. The Twist

The clang of metal wakes her from the nightmare. Moving on instinct, she reaches under her pillow for her knife and begins panicking when her searching hand can't find the familiar wooden shape. Trying to dispel the rising panic, she breathes deeply and tries to remember the last place she saw her knife. It's then that she realizes where she is, and her panic is replaced by a keen sense of sadness. Dancing her eyes around the narrow cell, she sees someone mopping the floor outside her cell. He's whistling a somber tune, yet somehow it gives hope to Ellie, like seeing the outside edge of a storm coming.

"What song is that?" He finishes the note and raises his head, looking around as though confused.

"Mister, what song was that?" When he finally turns around, Ellie stares. He's wearing something that she's never seen.

"What the hell are those?" He looks perplexed so she points at his face and he feels the thing.

"Oh, these are glasses." He pulls them off and hands them to her. Rising from the thin bed she takes them, perplexed by their light weight and weird shape. When she only stares quizzically at him, he gestures for her to put them on. Hesitantly she does, and nearly falls over when suddenly the world warps around her, she quickly rips them off and shoves them back at him.

"What the fuck?" She also realizes she's a bit nauseous and sits back down on her cot. Taking the edge of his shirt, the man wipes the glasses and puts them back on.

"Sorry, didn't realize you didn't know what these are! They help people see, but only if they're eyes are shaped the right way." He pulls an object from his pocket and flips it open. He checks it quickly before snapping it close and slipping it back into his pocket.

"I've got a bit of time, why don't we chat?" He reaches around the corner outside of her cell and pulls out a stool.

"What?" Ellie shakes her head, trying to figure out what's happening.

"Now, Miss Williams, you seem to be at a crossroads. Do you know what I mean?" When she only stares at him askew, he chuckles, "Now, Miss Williams, surely you know what a crossroad is? It's where two or more roads meet. Used to be very important in ancient times! Why, I could tell you stories of Hecate…" His voice trails off, suddenly unsure. He swallows and checks his contraption again.

"Welp. Anyway. Ellie, when the time comes, promise me that you will be genuine, alright? Just, when the time comes, Ellie, we need _you_, nothing more, and nothing less."

Ellie isn't sure why she's taking his gibberish so seriously but she finds herself seriously contemplating his question.

"I don't know what you mean, but I'll be me. Whatever the fuck that means." The man smiles and reaches into another pocket and pulls out her knife. She quickly rips it from his grasp and holds it against her chest, already feeling calmer as her fingers trace to familiar shape.

"Where did you find it? How? They took it from me when I was arrested!" The man just smiles and rises from his stool. "Why Miss. Williams, I assure you that I don't know what you're talking about! I'm just the janitor!" With that he smiles and slides the stool back around the corner. With a tip of his hat he heads deeper into the cell block. Ellie sits a moment longer trying to understand what he meant about 'being her', but eventually exhaustion overtakes her and she falls back asleep.

"Tommy! Open up!" Joel sweeps the area again, wishing that the light was a bit better to drive away all the dark shadows where he swears he keeps seeing someone moving. "Tommy!" The door finally swings open to reveal a very cross Maria. She glares at Joel, but upon seeing Tess with her pistol out and Katherine hiding behind her, she quickly steps aside and motions them inside. Once inside she quickly turns around and checks the darkened living room. In a hushed whisper, she tells them, "If you're Katherine, then you all are in deep shit. Man named David just came and is talking with Tommy about how you're missing and how Ellie possibly kidnapped you. Now, before you flip out," she stares pointedly at Joel before resuming her instruction, "I don't trust him, and Tommy's not too fond of him. All of you, go out the back door, get in the cellar. No lights, keep quiet." Before anyone can do anything, she turns around and calls out loudly, "Alright just let me know when you're ready to pick up Malachi! I always look forwards to babysitting him! Good night!" She quietly opens the door and then loudly closes it before heading to the back of the house.

"Your brother picked a pretty crafty wife, I'm a fan." Joel rolls his eyes at Tess and then shepherds them to the cellar. Once in the damp space Joel slumps against the wall, letting the coolness of the space wash over him.

"Well, at least it beats the fucking sewers in Boston, eh?" Joel can't help but to snort at the particular memory, and he winces when Tess responds with a punch that connects with his thigh. Rubbing his leg, he can't help but to wonder how Ellie is.

"Do you think she's okay?" He feels Tess lean against his shoulder, and he finds her hand in the dark. They sit for a moment until her breathing changes to a slower rate, he smiles and nuzzles her head closer. Sleep takes him with her in seconds.

Soft voices wake him and he is confused when he can't see. Then he feels the dampness of the wall through his shirt and he remembers where he is.

"I just…I feel so bad for Ellie. She was trying to help me and now she's in jail." Kathrine's voice sounded slightly stronger, less unsure.

"Katherine, what she did is her responsibility. If it helps, I don't blame you. In fact, I think its good that you tried to help her. I know she doesn't blame you." With that Joel leans away from the wall and yawns as he works the cricks out of his back.

"Morning Van Winkle, would you like a few crackers?" With an exaggerated wobble in his voice he says, "Now, what are these 'crackers' you mean? Back in my day, we ate bark!" Tess tosses him some crackers and he eats them slowly, giving his brain time to wake up.

"Where'd you get crackers?"

"While you were sleeping like a baby, Tommy came and we made a plan to get Ellie free. We're going to pick her up shortly, I'll explain on the way."

The cellar door flies open and the bright morning light causes all three of them to squint dodge back into the darkness. It's Tommy and with a grim face, he drops the bombshell.

"Ellie escaped. She's not in the jail, and if she's not back in 11 hours, she's a fugitive of the law." Joel stutters in anger but finally gets his sentence out,

"The hell you mean, 'fugitive of the law?'"

"If Ellie is not in her cell at 9 pm, when the new guards come on shift, she'll be marked as a missing person, and is to be brought in dead or alive."

"Oh no!" Kathrine turns to Tess, tears in her eyes, "she didn't escape, I know she wouldn't! David must have her! He has to!"

"Well, we have about 11 hours to find out. Let's roll."


	7. Punching Through

Ellie made a list of shitty things that had happened to her. First was being bit with Riley. She also considered having to put Riley down right along with that. Second, her fight with Joel in Salt Lake. Third, dealing with Bill – though Tess and Joel did most of the talking, she still hated that smug little asswipe. Fourth, Riley abandoning her back in the QZ. Though she understood why, it was still shitty. Finally, being kidnapped in the middle of the fucking night by Idiot and Silent. She was sure they had names, but right now, she liked calling them Idiot and Silent.

Idiot ripped her from her bed about three hours ago, and after biting his hand, Idiot slapped Ellie so hard that her lip had split. Silent had almost done something, but only very pointedly got in between her and him. She licked her lip, happy that the bleeding had finally stopped, when she ran into Silent. Silent pushed her backwards and when she managed to see around Silent, she herself scrambled backwards from the convulsing Idiot.

"Thompson, what the hell?" Still trying to put distance between her and Thompson, Ellie almost didn't register that Silent was the guy from the jail. When Thompson turned towards them, she saw the blood dripping down his face, the faint bumps around his eyes.

"Shit! He's turning!" Silent turned and shoved her further back, shouting at her to close her eyes. By the time she had finished rolling from his shove, and wondering how much the guy worked out, he had already had pinned Thompson and was getting ready to administer the kill shot with a pistol. She slowly rose to her feet and had just looked up when another Infected, a Runner from the looks of his eyes, had come out of gloom of the forest and tackled Silent.

Not wanting to waste the breath to call out if he was okay, Ellie pulled out her knife and dashed next to Silent, drawing the attention of both Thompson and the other Infected. When they gave chase, she darted between trees and ducked down behind a small pile of rocks. When she heard the pair run by, she jumped out and managed to wrap herself around the second Infected, jamming her blade into as many soft spots as she could. Before she could deliver a fatal blow, however, Thompson knocked her off the Infected and tried to fall on top of her, but Ellie rolled out of the way. Springing to her feet, she kicked Thompson in the face and grabbing his hair, she pounded his face repeatedly into the rocky soil of the forest.

However, the hands of the second Infected on her latched onto her, and when she couldn't break the grasp she let go of Thompson and fought harder. Suddenly, a gunshot rings out and the iron hands loosen. Not bothering checking who did it, she turned, wrenched her knife from the gurgling Infected, and with a final "Fuck you!" she drove the blade into it's eye and pulled it back out. Whirling, she drove the knife into Thompson's neck, severing the spinal cord, and finally remembered to breathe only once the body stopped thrashing. She registered the footsteps but didn't bother to move even as hands wrapped around her and hauled her to her feet. Her mind finally cleared however when Silent told her that any Infected nearby were going to come running if they didn't haul ass away.

About 20 yards from the now still corpses, they both stopped to catch their breath. As expected, they could hear a few Runners screaming, but when a deep roar echoed across the forest, they both took off as fast as they can. Eventually, the sounds faded into the distance and they both collapsed to the ground, chests heaving. After a minute or two Ellie's mind cleared enough to realize that she could use both of her hands. Rising her arms to her eyes, Ellie gaped at handcuffs that, no matter how hard she tried not to believe it, were cut right in the middle of the chains joining the cuffs.

"Dude! What the hell happened to these things?" Silent looked over and Ellie could have sworn he looked…guilty? But he quickly told her that sometimes it happened when they got old, it just took one good hit for that to happen. Before Ellie could ask any more questions, he started walking south. Ellie watched him make his way over a fallen tree when she called out,

"Hey, where are you going?" Silent didn't bother to stop walking and only called out over his shoulder,

"We need to get you home, I'm taking us back to the path." When Ellie started laughing, he stormed back to her and demanded to know what was so funny.

"Oh my God! The path is _that _way!" Raising her finger north, Silent blushed and muttered under his breath,

"Great, stuck in this fucking forest with a fucking girl scout." Hopping off the rock she had sat on, Ellie led the way, still snickering at his continued redness.

Closing the door behind them Joel huffed and leaned against the porch railing. Taking a moment to compose herself, Tess leaves her hand on the door before turning and swearing under breath.

"C'mon Tess, where else could she be? Those are all of David's lap dogs, and ain't none of them seen her!" Seeing the fear in his eyes, Tess reached and took his hand, kissing his scared knuckles. Having heard the door close, Kathrine emerged from behind some nearby bushes where she had hid. Seeing the two adults standing there, she despaired for her friend, but put on a smile for the two of them.

Suddenly, a small hand wrapped around her mouth and the other grabbed her arms and wrenched them behind her.

"Found you stupid bitch!" Eyes wild with panic, she realized that Tess and Joel have no idea what's going. Trying to shout from behind the hand, her efforts are rewarded with a sharp jerk to her arms, causing them to flare with pain. Trying to remember what her dad taught her as a child, she fell limp, causing the boy holding her to haul her closer to him to balance her better. Seizing her opportunity, she dug her booted foot into his ankle, and when his hand let go in the sudden shock of the pain, she bit it and then threw her head backwards, nauseated by the sound of her head crushing the cartilage of his nose. Twisting around and freeing her arms, she pushed him with all her might and then ran to the adults on the patio, screaming for help.

The pair met her halfway, and with leaving Tess with the hyperventilating teen, Joel raced to the attacker, who had managed to rise to his feet and had begun fleeing. However, with the sudden reversal of the attack still leaving him in shock, Joel quickly caught up to him and tackled him to the ground.

"Get off of me you fucker!" The youth squirmed, but couldn't shake Joel off of him. He tried to drag himself forward, but stops when Tess plants her boot on the back of his head and pushes his face into the ground.

"Hi there. My name is Tess, and you are?" When only muffled sounds responded, Tess lifted her boot slightly and let the boy speak.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said, 'Go fuck yourself bitch!'" His outburst gets him a sharp cuff by Joel, leaving tears in the corner of his eyes. Tess shook her head, a look of concern on her face,

"Oh, honey. Leave the poor boy alone!" When he turned his head to smirk at Joel, Tess stomped his face back into the dirt.

"Listen well, because I'm tired and I just want to find my daughter," Tess removed her boot and squatted down, "test me and I will kill you. Help me, and you might live." The boy raised his face to retort but when he felt the cold metal of a knife against his throat, the boast died in his throat.

"Okay! Listen, I know where they took Ellie! I swear I didn't do it!" Tess looked to Joel for his opinion. Though Tess was more of a people person, Joel was downright uncanny on seeing through people's lies. He nodded his head and Tess removed the shiv from the boy's neck.

"Start with your name, and then you, me, Joel, and Katherine are all going to go have a chat with Tommy. Tess sat down, letting her tired legs rest and, listened to the boy as he started his tale.


End file.
